1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disposable pants-type diaper for an infant or an adult.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a disposable pants-type diaper with elastic members disposed along an edge of leg openings. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H6-296643 (Patent Document 1) discloses a disposable pants-type diaper including two elastic members disposed on front and back sides of the diaper, respectively, so that the elastic members are disposed along an entire edge of leg openings, wherein the two elastic members are disposed at a crotch portion parallel to each other and do not intersect each other at the edge of the leg openings. WO2006/000303 (Patent Document 2) discloses a disposable pants-type diaper provided with a first elastic section, a second non-elastic section, a third elastic section, and a fourth non-elastic section in this order from a longitudinal side edge of a front portion or back portion of the diaper toward a crotch center line, along an edge of leg openings, wherein the third elastic section extends across the crotch portion. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-140021 (Patent Document 3) discloses a disposable pants-type diaper including leg elastic members disposed along an edge of leg openings; and an absorbent portion elastic member disposed at a crotch portion so as to extend in a width direction and intersect the leg elastic members and an absorbent body.
Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose disposable pants-type diapers including two elastic members disposed on the front and back sides of the diaper, respectively, and disposed at the crotch portion parallel to each other. However, when the two elastic members are disposed at the crotch portion so as to be spaced from each other, the edges of the leg openings sag at their parts between the two elastic members. Also, even when the two elastic members are disposed so as not to be spaced from each other, the edges of the leg openings sag at the crotch portion. In this case, since the elastic member is disposed continuously so as to extend along the edge of the leg openings and across the crotch portion, the elastic force in a diaper width direction and the elastic force in a leg opening periphery direction are combined at the crotch portion, and therefore, it is hard to exert an elastic force which pulls the edge of the leg opening inward in the diaper width direction at the crotch portion, resulting in sagging the edges of the leg openings at the crotch portion. If the edge of the leg opening sags, a foot is easily caught by the edge of the leg opening when the diaper is worn, causing a risk of falling down of a wearer in wearing the diaper. In addition, though such disposable pants-type diaper has sufficient leg tightness, a fitting property at a part of the crotch portion where an absorbent core is disposed is insufficient.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a disposable pants-type diaper with which a foot is hardly caught by an edge of a leg opening in wearing, resulting in easily wearing, and has an excellent fitting property at a crotch portion.